Dave Franklin
Musician, scribbler, historian, gnostic, seeker of enlightenment, asker of the wrong questions, delver into the lost archives, fugitive from the law of averages, blogger, quantum spanner, left footed traveller, music journalist, zenarchist, freelance writer, reviewer and gemini. People have woken up to worse.
Under The Radar – I: Spring Rain – The Go-Betweens
I have been posting some of my favourite videos to Facebook for a while now, mainly consigning myself to bands that I always felt...
That Was The Musical Week That Was – 201122
Another week's worth of the great music I have been writing about, the cool artists I have been working with, and the live gigs...
This Time It’s Personal – Mr Craig (reviewed by Darren Baker)
Mr Craig has worn many hats in the media and entertainment business over the years, from video to voice-over work, acting, mastering, and producing,...
Zen Ghost – Frenchy and the Punk (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I’m sure that I said it before, but anything that reminds me of Concrete Blonde, who, I have it on good authority, has been...
Inferno – Dispel (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Most genres in the darker, heavier ends of the music realm have toyed with fantasy imagery and fantastic ideas. Rockers have rambled on in...
Rising London alt-pop artist – Le Junk – releases his rich...
Upping the ante with his slick and seductive blend of sleazy disco-rock and glitzy electronica, “Some Monkeys” glints like a jagged shard of a...
Ph2 sign with Epictronic Records for Season 5 album release
Epictronic Records is proud to announce that French progressive rock project Ph2 signed a deal for their album Season 5 (Remastered Version), which is...
Electric Souls – Dmitry Wild (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
There is an alternate universe that I go to sometimes. It is a world built on a particular sound and style of music. Sometimes...
Above The Water – Elk city (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Elk City is another of those bands who have slightly wrong-footed me of late. (Yes, Black Nite Crash, I’m looking at you.) Bands who...
Everything’s Alright – Jesse Cantrell (reviewed by Darren Baker)
Everything's Alright is one of those songs that wears its heart on its sleeve. Lyrically, it makes no compromise; it is the sound of...
Washed in the Sound with Black Nite Crash – Black Nite...
As the dark embrace of “The Take” kicks this album off, it feels like coming home. It is a warm, seductive, familiar and exotic...
Yes – No Serial Killer (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Some bands revel in eclecticism. That wish to fuse and forge new sounds and genres together with every new track they pen so that...
Musical Musings – V: David Schipper, a grassroots music champion
The world has always been a customer-driven place. Supply and demand, it's a concept as old as trade itself. And even in the music...
The Old Man of the Sea – The Lost Trades (reviewed...
Having known them as three individual artists before they came together to form this exceptional band gives some insight into the three individuals that...
That Was The Musical Week That Was – 121122
And here we are once more. Another week done, another seven days of cool music and great artists to pen about and ponder over....
Call Waiting – Connor Cherland (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
The shimmering rock tones and polished textures of the title track prove to be the perfect way to lead us into this six-track album,...
Live Again – D2UR (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Although written specifically with the lockdown and isolation of the Covid years in mind, Live Again carries a sentiment to which we can all...
Influx – Thy Veils (reviewed by Darren Baker)
Thy Veils is the perfect legacy of those early synth pioneers and post-punk keyboard revolutionaries who kicked off the genre they work in. There...
Helplessly Heartless – CE Freddie (reviewed by Darren Baker)
CE Freddie showcases precisely where the more progressive end of urban music is with this latest album. I call it urban music because trying...
Once Do It With Feeling – Candy Coffins (reviewed by...
Genres are meaningless. Post-punk is more so than most, more a description of a time than a sound. But it is still a term...
The Slow Death of the Lovemyth – Ronan Conroy (reviewed by...
Kicking off with the delicious strains of “Double Helix”, a single that has already tested the water, sets the perfect tone for this gorgeous...
Aquaplaning – Vernons Future (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
At a place where pop meets rock, retro, mod-ish urges meet modern indie moves, and the alternative and underground meet the mainstream and chart-friendly....
Where Spirits Play – The Ember Glows (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Anyone reading my previous review of this band, the glorious single “The Mirror,” might have thought, “this guy’s on the pay role or perhaps...
Touching Me Now – Alke (reviewed by Darren Baker)
Pop is a broad music category. All genres are, but pop perhaps has a broader sonic spectrum than most. But, again, as with all...
Tam Lin – Elliot Cole, Fiona Gillespie and Makaris (reviewed by...
One of the great things about folk music (as well as jazz and blues) is that re-interpretations, re-imaginings, and re-working of material already in...
The Sky Was All Diseased – Black Market Karma and Tess...
It seems that no sooner has the last sounds of Aped Flair & Hijacked Ideas, Black Market Karma’s tenth album to date, drifted off...
Damn The Wolves – Damn The Wolves (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
In a previous life, this trio of musicians made music which brilliantly walked the line between pop melodics and hooks on one side, and...
Nearly Dead yet very much alive and kicking. A catch up...
I last spoke to you guys about the release of “Punk Rock Kitty Cat” nearly two years ago. What, if anything, has changed since...
Sew Change – Rezo (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
The ability to create lush and lustrous soundscapes is a fine art indeed. Thrashing guitars and filling the creative space with impactful and impatient...
2020 (Helter Skelter) – Ignacio Peña (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
A few guarantees come when any new track by Ignacio Peña lands on your desk. You know that the music is going to be...
